Esper Royale
by CrossFaded
Summary: Othinus creates a survival game in an alternate world known as the Esper Royale where the last participant alive would win a wish. Any wish. In this game, there is no right or wrong. Nothing other than a genuine desire to obtain that wish. Even Kamijou Touma who wishes to end this game will realize that.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

In case you're wondering, I adopted this story idea from ColourfulF because he couldn't continue the story anymore due to plot issues. I'll explain later at the end.

* * *

A spiky-haired boy gazed longingly at the sunset scenery from outside the window, sitting alone in the classroom with his teacher Tsukuyomi Komoe writing words and numbers on the blackboard.

This was a time when the spiky-haired boy named Kamijou Touma should be at home catching up with RPG games, or mangas, but remedial lessons forced his unwilling body and soul to be here.

"Kamijou-chan, do you know what a railgun is?" Komoe said.

At 135cm coupled with a well maintained youthful appearance sporting short pink hair, his teacher seemed more like a elementary school student who should be studying basic science instead of discussing the theory of a railgun to a high school student like him.

"An orange beam fired by a middle school girl that almost killed me."

It was July 19th, a day before the end of summer vacation when a group of thug chased after him and that led to an encounter with Misaka Mikoto at the bridge.

Komoe sighed, her face almost in tears. "Have you been reading too much manga recently?! You'll be kicked out of school with your lousy grades if you keep this up, you know?"

"I'm just kidding! Of course I know what a railgun is!"

Even though there were no Aogami Pierce, Tsuchimikado Motoharu or his other classmates to punish him for his insolence, it was wrong of him to be making such a cruel joke to his emotionally sensitive teacher.

How could he ever forget what a railgun was when the living railgun esper Biribiri or Misaka Mikoto kept challenging him to fights which she never won anyway.

After explaining what a railgun really was, Komoe nodded her head with a satisfied look.

"Alright, that's all for today's remedial lesson. See you tomorrow, Kamijou-chan."

Komoe left the classroom, and Touma was now the only person seated inside.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to hear nothing but the faint sounds of traffic and the evening breeze.

It had been quite awhile since he found the time to enjoy such peace.

I wonder what kind of a world this is now?

Touma left the classroom and headed for the stairs.

During November, a magic god named Othinus ended the world.

He was the only survivor. More specifically, the only person Othinus chose not to kill due to his Imagine Breaker.

This was another new world created by Othinus.

Touma's foot stepped onto nothing, and he found himself tumbling down the staircase.

No matter what world he was in, it seemed that his misfortune never went away.

A girl with long, black hair approached him worriedly.

"Are you okay...?"

It was his classmate, Tagawa Risa. Coincidentally, they were from the same class during middle school phase in this academy as well. He occasionally helped her out with homework from time to time.

In the original world, he never met Risa in middle school, she was from another class in his high school, and the both of them were definitely not studying in this prestigious academy.

Touma got up to his feet, body sharply aching in pain, but he smiled. This level of pain was nothing compared to sadistic torture in different worlds by a god.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Risa heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank god. I just don't understand why are the gods ill-treating such a wonderful person like you."

"Fate can be cruel at times."

Unknown to Risa, a god named Othinus was indeed 'ill-treating' this wonderful person named Kamijou Touma because of a special ability in his right hand known as the Imagine Breaker. At least he was not treated like a demon by the world, nor having his identity stolen away from him, or some other crazy bullshit... yet.

Risa stared at the ground, her nervous face blushing. "Umm..."

"Yes?"

"I wa-was wondering if you wa-want to have dinner with me?"

Are girls so prideful that they always become red-faced and nervous whenever they ask a guy for dinner? It was just dinner for god's sake.

Since Touma had no money for a proper meal and letting a girl pay for everything would be ungentlemanly, he decided to opt this one out.

"I... have something on tonight. Thanks for the offer though."

"I see. Another time then!"

Risa forced a bright smile to hide the crushing pain inside. All the courage she mustered, and all of it was for nothing.

Though there was another reason why she had to go out on a date with Touma... which was why she managed to muster all of her courage which normally would be suppressed by her doubts.

Another girl grabbed Risa by the wrist in an attempt to drag her away.

It was her best friend, Kuroki Kishi.

Kishi smirked at Touma, "Sorry, but she's all mine today. There's no way I'm letting you take her away."

Risa struggled to break free, "Kishi! What are you doing?!"

Touma pointed to a bruise near Kishi's right eye. "What happened to you?"

"It's... none of your business. Goodbye." She shot him an annoyed glare before dragging Risa away.

Touma stepped through the school gate onto the familiar street bathed in an orange glow, walking past tired looking salarymen and office ladies who finished work.

Kishi was an energetic, tomboyish girl with short, black hair whom he did not know much about, and she seemed to be the kind of girl who would pick fights like Mikoto unlike her gentle looking friend Risa, so that should explain the bruise.

A cool evening breeze swept past his face.

He opened his wallet, and stared at the two 100 yen coins inside.

Negativity and sorrow filled his heart.

At least I can afford a piece of bread for dinner?

A shop selling electronic goods were displaying various television brands through a glass window, all of them airing the 6.30pm news about the current events happening in this city known as Academy City.

A politician was debating that the previous crime management system known as the Sibyl system in Japan demolished overnight 20 years ago by an unknown force should be reinstated because of the increasing crime rate such as the increasing amount of people disappearing into thin air, and the amount of people being brutally murdered by unknown people. However, others were strongly against that notion because this would mean that their freedom would be taken away from them again.

After the Sibyl System was demolished overnight, Japan went into chaos because it was so dependent on the system to the point where Japan lost its status as the most advanced country in the world when the Sibyl System fell.

20 years later, Japan was still in chaos, but only the area in Japan occupied by this city known as Academy City which was established during the chaos obtained peace and order while being one of the most advanced city in the world by salvaging and improving technologies left behind in Japan.

"Academy City just doesn't feel the same without espers even if they are still technologically advanced." Touma murmured.

"Get the fuck out of my way!"

It was a familiar voice he would never forget even if he lost his memories again.

Misaka Mikoto.

She shot a quick glance behind before rushing off.

In this world, Misaka Mikoto did not remember him, and a lot more has been changed in this new world, but what was Othinus's purpose this time?

However, there were other things that Touma should be more worried about first.

For example, getting dinner at the cost of exactly zero yen.

He made his way to a nearby restaurant.

This wasn't his first time after all.

* * *

Mikoto sipped on her orange juice, ignoring the three girls from Tokiwadai Middle School seated at a corner inside the same restaurant as her. They were trouble she wanted to avoid, but from the way those troublesome girls looked at her, Mikoto hoped for the best.

The price of being a talented genius was attracting jealous people who wanted to make her life miserable.

"Is Nagatenjouki Academy a nice school?" Mikoto said.

Seated in front of Mikoto was her two friends she haven't met for a long while.

Kazari gave her a comforting smile. "As a ex-student of this school, I'm sure you'll do fine over there."

Uiharu Kazari was her neighbour at another district before her family moved house into this district about three years ago.

"I had fun over there as well!" Ruiko said.

And Saten Ruiko was another friend which Mikoto met through Kazari. Both Ruiko and Kazari were best friends and Mikoto often joined them to play and to also ask them for help with homework when she was just an elementary school student.

When Mikoto started middle school, both Ruiko and Kazari were almost finished with their university studies.

Kazari sighed, "Too much fun for your own good. You should have worked harder during high school instead of chasing idols."

"I was never cut out for studying anyway, Miss White Panties." Ruiko winked.

Kazari's face flashed deep crimson in embarrassment. "How did you know?! Don't tell me..."

"I just took a small peek while you weren't noticing, that's all."

"I'm go-going to arrest you for sexual harassment! Even as a working adult in society, you never change!"

And when Mikoto finished middle school, both Ruiko and Kazari were fresh university graduates working in society.

She gulped down her juice, "Kazari, how's the investigation coming along? It's been already been more than three months."

"I don't even want to talk about it. At least we have some leads to chase after for the murder cases, but the disappearing cases are a nightmare. We can't find anything at all. In the first place, I don't even understand the motive behind kidnapping so many people. And my higher ups are pressuring my team to come up with at least a clue to shut the media up."

Ruiko grinned. "Not even our talented Inspector Uiharu can solve this case? That's alright, you can leave it to your friendly neighborhood journalist. I'll definitely dig up something."

After graduation, Kazari went on to become an officer in Judgement, an organization in charge of upholding law and order within Academy City.

Meanwhile, Ruiko became a journalist for a small newspaper company.

"Just don't get into trouble with the law again. I can't always save you."

"Yes yes, my dear Inspector Uiharu. That time was just a minor slip up."

About a month ago to take some pictures of a famous actress for her newspaper, Ruiko trespassed inside her house (despite the supposedly impeccable security system put into place) and was caught when she spotted Ruiko in her bedroom, about to hide inside a cabinet. Thanks to Kazari pulling strings, Ruiko was only let off with a warning.

The waitress placed a plate of curry rice in front of Ruiko.

Ruiko took a scoop from her plate before facing Mikoto. "Anyway, what are you interested in becoming one day? A Judgement officer like Kazari? Or maybe you can consider becoming a journalist like me! It's fun and exciting investigating cases with a lot more freedom."

Mikoto stared at her own reflection through the empty glass of fruit juice as she twirled a straw inside the glass. "Hmm... A job that can protect people from danger... you know, something like a superhero I guess?"

"Anti-Skill?" Kazari said, "If only I was in Anti-Skill, then I wouldn't be stuck doing boring admin work most of the time in my office!"

Anti-Skill was a special operation unit in Judgement that involves dealing with dangerous criminal elements lurking around the city.

Mikoto chuckled, "If only you were more physically fit. I mean, zero pull-ups?"

"Stop being so mean to me." Kazari said defeatedly.

Her mother was an Inspector of the MWPSB, or Judgement during Sibyl's era 20 years old, which meant that her fitness must be excellent. Mikoto thought it was a mystery that Kazari did not inherit her mother's fitness? Or maybe it could be her father?

Life can be so unfair like that.

Just like how life took away something precious to her for no reason.

* * *

Uiharu shoved a drunk Ruiko moaning about how she could still drink a few more shots into a cab. "Are you sure you'll be fine?"

Mikoto waved Uiharu's concern away with a smile, "I'll be okay, don't worry."

"But it's 1 am in the morning, and it's not safe to be alone as a girl that late out in the streets."

"I took self-defense classes in school, and it's only a 30 minute walk from here."

"Still..."

"Have some faith in me. I may be a lot younger than you, but I definitely can fight better than you."

Uiharu sighed, "As stubborn as always. Take care then."

"You too."

The stars glittered like diamonds on velvet black cloth. Other than the occasional drunkards stumbling outside through nightclubs, not much people were out in the streets filled with closed shophouses.

What a nice night to be taking a stroll back home.

Tomorrow would be Mikoto's first day in Nagatenjouki Academy, and she did not look forward to it.

Going to a new school felt like the time when her family moved house. Thrown into a new environment with no friends. If only she passed the qualification test to enter Tokiwadai High School, then she could have remained in the same class as a first year high school student with the rest.

"Hey miss, you wanna have some fun with us?"

A slurring voice interrupted Mikoto's thoughts.

She turned behind to face four drunkards inching closer and closer like zombies, each clutching beer bottles.

Mikoto spun to her left, dodging a beer bottle that one of the drunkards threw.

"Fucking answer me, you fucking bitch!"

Drunk people sure are annoying.

She sprinted across the endless row of shophouses. Four against one despite all four being drunk was not a fight Mikoto liked dealing with.

The four drunkards started chasing after her as well.

It was like a zombie movie scene where the protagonist had to run away from a group of zombies.

Mikoto glanced back, annoyed.

Do I really have to turn back?! They'll most probably tire faster than me so I should be fine.

She was an inter-school champion for two consecutive years in the 1.5km race after all.

In her final year in Tokiwadai, two girls named Kuroki Kishi and Tagawa Risa both from Nagatenjouki Academy managed to achieve the exact same timing of 3.59 mins, beating Mikoto's time of 4.00 mins.

She felt like a loser, and locked herself up in the room for the whole day. Looking back, it was childish of her to take defeat that seriously.

"Get the fuck out of my way!"

Mikoto knocked a guy aside who happened to be in the way.

This guy... he looks familiar. Especially his spiky, black hair.

Wasn't that the same guy who she knocked aside this evening while rushing to buy a gift from a shop which closes at 7pm.

Maybe I should apologize to him if I see him again.

Mikoto no longer heard footsteps behind her. Did she succeeded in losing those drunkards?

Her happiness was short-lived. At the end of a straight path into a crossroad, the four drunkards reappeared.

Their persistence frustrated Mikoto. They must have taken some shortcut. Some people just don't know when to give up, drunk or not.

Buzzing noises accompanied by the sound of flesh being ripped apart and screaming pierced through the air.

Three humanoid insect-like mutants ripped apart the limbs of those four drunkards with their long, bony claws like savage beasts before devouring it through their mandibles.

Any normal human faced with such a situation would have already fled the scene in fear.

She clicked her tongue, annoyed.

"Those monsters."

Mikoto swung lightning bolts from her hands towards the unwary mutants, reducing them into ashes.

Those mutants were probably weak variants that an armed Anti-skill officer could deal with if they were so easily defeated by mere lightning bolts.

A small black orb hovered in front of Mikoto.

It twisted and expanded into a blonde, foreign girl wielding a magnificent looking spear. She gave off an appearance like a witch with her pointy hat and cape, and her revealing black outfit covering only the important bits like a bikini destroyed the traditional image of witches being ugly and clothed conservatively.

"Having fun with your powers I see." The girl said.

"I wasn't having fun. "

Being a hero to protect innocent people from being eaten by mutants was not something she enjoyed even if she did enjoy fantasizing being one.

"Anyway, I'm just here to remind you one thing."

Mikoto knew what she was trying to get at.

Becoming a hero was not the reason why the girl gave her powers.

"This is a survival game, never forget that."

Mikoto blinked, and the girl was nowhere to be seen.

The reason why she gave her powers was because of a survival game she chose to participate in.

A survival game known as the Esper Royale.

The last participant alive would be granted a wish by the girl.

Any wish.

* * *

In exchange for food and some money to survive, Touma worked as a temporary dish washer in a restaurant.

It was a busy day, and the restaurant desperately needed more manpower, so when he appeared out of the blue asking for a temporary job, they took him in with grateful smiles.

It was already 1am. Except for a few people who had finished their work that late in night like him, there was no one else out at this cold, desolate street.

Working from 7pm to 1am earned Touma 4000 yen. With 4000 yen, he could at least survive a week on instant noodles and bread with some money leftover.

Touma heaved a sigh of relief as he made his way back home. His homework was still not done, and he doubted that he had enough time to finish them anyway.

This peaceful life made him uneasy. Did Othinus give up in torturing him? Or was this just a calm before the storm?

"Get the fuck out of my way!"

Mikoto knocked him aside, but this time she did not look back.

"To meet Biribiri twice in a single day, I wonder if you call that coincidence or fate."

Touma sighed. He was not used to Mikoto ignoring him, but he did wish for her to leave him alone in peace. Fighting a Level 5 every other day was not a fun experience he looked forward to.

A loud scream for help shattered the peaceful silence.

It was from an alley.

Grabbing a dented sewer pipe found lying near a rubbish bin, Touma ventured into the darkness to see a frightened girl cornered by three thugs.

"What do you think you're doing to that girl?!"

The three guys turned their heads towards Touma in surprise. They never thought that someone would appear in a desolate alley at such a late hour, but other than a makeshift blunt weapon in one hand, this spiky-haired boy did not seem very threatening.

"Obviously to rape her. What else do you think we want to do?" A thug said as he inched closer towards Touma.

This was followed by laughter from the two other guys.

The thug approaching Touma towered over him by at least a head, and his body were so ripped that he could qualify for a bodybuilding contest and win first place.

Grinning, he held a fist up. "You may have a weapon, but don't underestimate me. I can take you out in a single pun-"

Touma slammed the sewer pipe across his head. The muscular thug wobbled around like a drunkard before collapsing with a thud.

"Run!"

The girl nodded before running towards the exit.

The remaining two thugs directed their attention on Touma, the unlikely nuisance not even the least intimidated by Yamaguchi's aura.

"You dare assault our boss?!"

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!"

Touma spat. "He deserved it. As for you two, back off before I smash you with this."

Both thugs whipped out a small knife from their pockets.

"You shall pay for treating our boss like that!"

Touma sprinted towards the exit with a thug close behind with a knife.

Where's the other guy?

He had a bad feeling about this.

Anyway, if I make it outside I'll be safer.

Outside the alley, Touma would have more space to run away and hide.

When he made it outside, a large group of thugs numbering about thirty similar to the two guys armed with knifes surrounded Touma from all directions.

The guy chasing Touma with a knife appeared from the exit smirking. "You really have no idea how much trouble you've gotten into."

All of them charged towards Touma with their blades raised.

Escape was impossible. It was like being trapped in a room where the four walls was moving towards him all at once.

If Touma had ignored that scream, he would have been home safe without ending up in the hospital for the nth time. This time however, he might just end up dead... and move on to the next world created by Othinus.

"I'll take all of you on with just this pipe!"

But he could never ignore a person in need, no matter who they might be.

A white string shot out from a glass window behind a henchmen, wrapping itself on his neck. Ripples appeared on the window and like being pulled underwater, he disappeared inside.

Everyone froze in shock upon seeing this.

"What's going on...?" Touma said.

White strings rapidly shot out from glass windows. and dragged more and more men inside.

One man tried to cut the string grabbing his neck with a knife. It failed, and he was dragged inside as well.

The remaining men screamed as they ran for their lives like ants scattering away, but the relentless white string continued dragging those who were too slow inside.

"Watch out!"

Touma knocked away a guy who almost got ensnared by a white string from behind, and ended up being ensnared instead.

He tugged at the string to slow down the rate he was dragged inside the glass window.

However, it was futile.

His right hand failed to work on this phenomenon that was clearly supernatural in nature?

As Touma entered through the glass window, his surroundings became distorted like an image being seen through a broken mirror before shattering into pieces. Only a vast black space remained.

Before he could make sense of what was going on, the vast black space transformed into the same surroundings before it was distorted.

A horrifying scene came into view.

Multiple human-sized white and gold spiders were consuming people they had dragged inside here. The sound of bones being crushed filled the area. Puddles of blood were everywhere. Those spiders were messy in consuming their prey.

Touma clenched his fists in disbelief.

A blonde, foreign girl wielding a magnificent looking spear appeared.

It was Othinus and the source of all her Magic God powers, Gungnir.

"What kind of a world did you place me in this time?!"

She waved her spear to erase the people, spiders, and the bloody mess created around the area.

"A kinder world than the previous one. In fact, I'm going to give you a chance to end this."

"A chance?"

Othinus sounded too good to be true. Was it going to be something impossible like running to the moon without the aid of any technology, or shoot down a sun with a common gun anyone can find in America?

"I'm playing this survival game called Esper Royale. The last participant alive wins and I'll grant a wish to the winner. Kamijou Touma, if you're the last participant alive, I'll grant you a wish. Any wish. Think about it."

To kill someone for your own selfish reasons.

Touma remembered facing similar people like that.

Fiamma Of The Right who brought about World War 3 and caused many deaths just because he wanted to save the world by himself.

Accelerator who killed 10,031 Misaka clones to achieve absolute power beyond Level 5.

Was Othinus forcing him to be in the position of the opponents he once defeated with his Imagine Breaker?

"I'll participate."

She raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Has the trauma from being endlessly tortured by a god finally made you a murderer?"

"You're wrong."

Othinus slightly tilted her head, "Hmm? What surprises do you have in store this time?"

"I'll participate and end your senseless game."

It didn't have to be this way. He didn't have to become the same villain he himself would stand up and fight against.

She chuckled, "Very well. Do whatever you like then. By the way, in case you think I'm going to abuse my powers as a Magic God unfairly, let me reassure you that from this point onwards, I'll no longer change anything else in this world. The only reason I'll appear or interfere is to do my part as a game master and ensure that the game progresses. Now, I'll return you back into the real world away from this alternate dimension I created as the final change to this world."

Othinus vanished and everything shattered apart into a vast black space before transforming back to where Touma was before he got dragged inside into an alternate dimension that was a carbon copy of this world.

If what she said was true, perhaps he might have a chance.

Touma did not know what kind of fate would await him if he did end Othinus's silly survival game.

But watching people kill each other for a wish was something he could not look away and pretend nothing happened.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

ColourfulF is a friend of mine and I helped him with the story quite a fair bit. He said he gave up on the story, but I thought it was a waste so I decided to adopt the story instead.

There are other stories that I haven't updated (and should be updating), but I kinda lost the momentum from continuing since it has been a long time already, and looking back, I found my stories... let's just say quite lacking. If I were to choose a fic to update, it will most likely be a rewrite plus one update.

This story was mainly inspired by Masked Rider Ryuki as you can see, haha. The elements from Psycho Pass are there for a reason, and if you keep reading, you'll realize why.

Although it's kind of a rewrite, hope you found it interesting all the same!

See you :)


	2. Chapter 2

Two girls were holding hands as they walked along a dark school corridor barely lit up by the faint moonlight. Lightning flashed across the window and the pitter patter sound from the rain echoed throughout the area.

One girl jumped in fear from the sudden crackling sound and squeezed the other girl's hand.

She was Tagawa Risa, and the other girl was her best friend, Kuroki Kishi.

The dark, freezing rainy mood gave Risa an eerie feeling about this abandoned school. She also regretted not having brought a jacket along like Kishi because the cold might just overwhelm her so much that she would never walk again if she stopped moving, frozen for an eternity.

They were here to explore the mystery behind Kisaragi Academy. Rumors says that spirits belonging to the students of Kisaragi Academy mysteriously disappearing into thin air around 20 years ago could be seen wandering around the area at night.

Kishi wanted to see for herself if it was true, and Risa was the unfortunate partner who got dragged along by her. If only she had succeeded in asking Touma out for a date, then maybe she could convince Kishi not to explore this creepy place.

Risa wondered if Kishi was doing this to forget her troubles with her boyfriend Yamazaki. She may be a fan about all things supernatural, but this was probably the first time she was brave enough to explore haunted areas.

The bruise on Kishi was the most worrying thing.

"Kishi... are you two really okay? Even I think the both of you seem really distant nowadays. And the bruise... what happened?" Risa said.

"Hey Risa, promise me you won't tell anyone else?"

Risa nodded.

"Anyway..." Kishi sighed, "It's just that Yamazaki has been talking to that girl from another school and he isn't spending enough time with me. He said that she was just a friend but how can I trust him when he refuses to prove it by spending more time with me?"

"Then did he tell you what he was busy with?"

"He said he was busy with work at a restaurant after school, but that's just bullshit. One time after school, I saw him with that girl getting into a car. If that isn't cheating on me, then what is?!"

Risa winced in pain as Kishi tightened her grip in anger.

"Who exactly is this girl? Maybe we can talk to her?"

"I'm not going to degrade myself and beg this bitch to leave Yamazaki. She can have him as her pet if she wants! I don't care anymore!"

"But Kishi, I really think you should go talk to her. Maybe there is really some misunderstanding going on?"

"..."

Kishi stopped walking and fell silent.

"What's wrong?" Risa said.

"I did. Actually I did talk to her today. But... but..."

Trembling, Kishi pulled up the sleeves on her jacket, revealing bruises all over her arm.

Risa widened her eyes in shock at the other injuries she suffered. It was much more serious than expected. "Wh-what happened? Are you okay?!"

"It's over between me and Yamazaki. It was so obvious from the time he chose to spend time with her than me. She said I was a burden to him and I should just leave him alone. She's richer, smarter and even more beautiful than me. Of course, how can I ever compare to Takitsubo Rikou. I'm just an ordinary girl."

It took Risa awhile before realizing who exactly Kishi was talking about.

Takitsubo Rikou was a girl who held the record for having one of the highest IQ in the world at 240. Not only that, she was also a investor in many big companies, but her fortune mostly comes from her shares in Everlife Corporation, one of the biggest corporation in Academy City.

"Did she beat you up?"

Kishi laughed at herself in a self-loathing manner. "I was so angry at this bitch for stealing Yamazaki that I wanted to beat her up, but I ended up being beaten up by her bodyguards."

Her self-loathing laughter soon turned into crying.

For a girl like Kishi to cry, Yamazaki must have been someone very important to her.

"I really really tried my best. When Yamazaki's little brother suffered from a rare form of leukemia, I tried my best to make the both of them as happy as possible. I did balloon art, I did card magic, I did a lot of other things. I was always there listening to Yamazaki or his little brother. But! All Takitsubo did was to throw a lot of money into a foreign medical technology and cured his little brother. Not even in a million years can I ever reach her level. Yamazaki is right in choosing her over me, but I really need him. Why... why of all people, you have to steal Yamazaki!"

Risa smiled as she wiped the tears off Kishi before hugging her. "There, there. You still have me. I'll always be with you."

She took out a blank, white piece of paper with a genderless figure printed on it from her pocket.

Risa was never the supernatural sort of person unlike Kishi. In fact, she disliked being involved in the supernatural. In her opinion, the dead should be left alone rather than to meddle with them.

However, since Kishi was a fan of the supernatural and seeing how distant her relationship with Yamazaki must have made her moody, Risa decided to cheer her up by using a friendship charm. She went to a search engine using her smartphone during dinner while Kishi visited the toliet, typed in 'friendship charm' and entered the first website that appeared on search results.

It was a occult blog by Naho Saenoki. In it, was a ritual called 'Sachiko Ever After'. According to the blog, it was based on a notable murder case 60 years ago in a district named Tenjin. Even though the victim Sachiko died a horrible death, her spirit still wanders the Earth, granting wishes and easing worries of others so that they would not suffer the same fate as her.

It was notable because 60 years ago was the era of a 'god' named Kira where crime rate in the world were almost zero because criminals would mysteriously drop dead because Kira had judged them to be guilty. This was one of few criminal cases that happened during that era.

Afterwards, Risa downloaded the specially designed charm and printed it out through her phone camera and an attached mini printer device on her phone that allowed one to print images by merely aiming the phone camera and device on a paper surface which they wanted the printed image to be on.

"Is that the 'Sachiko Ever After' charm from Naho's blog?" Kishi said.

Risa nodded. "Let's do the ritual together so that we'll definitely be friends forever! The most important thing is that we have to chant only twice since there is two of us, no more no less. Umm... there was another important thing but I can't seem to remember... "

"If you should flub the line in any way, do not attempt to restate it. Instead, just move on. This is of the utmost importance. Correcting a flubbed line counts as invoking the chant one extra time, and could have dire consequences." Kishi shook her head, wiping her tears with a smirk. "No wonder you're always struggling in school. Trust me, natto with rice improves one's memory."

Risa's face turned pale, "You're lying. I... don't believe you!"

Ever since a traumatic incident involving natto, just by mentioning natto would give Risa a queasy feeling. The smell would knock her out, and consumption might require sending her to an intensive care unit.

The both gripped the paper charm on one end. After chanting, they would tear the paper apart and keep the piece of paper which signifies their eternal friendship bond created by the ritual.

"Ready?" Risa said.

Kishi nodded.

You're always so kind and thoughtful. You didn't have to go that far just to cheer me up...

That traumatic incident involving natto also happened because of her kind heartedness. It was probably due to that incident when Tagawa Risa started developing a crush on Kamijou Touma, an idiot who managed to capture the hearts of almost three-quarters of the girls in class.

Even though Risa is also an idiot for liking Kamijou but God, thank you for blessing me with such a wonderful friend. I'll definitely cherish this friendship with her forever.

And the both started chanting.

"Sachiko, we beg of you."

"Sachiko, we beg of you."

They each tore a piece of paper. Risa kept her piece in her student ID while Kishi kept her piece in her wallet.

"Now we'll be best friends forever." Risa said.

Kishi nodded. "Who needs Yamazaki when I have you. I'll forget about him and move on! I'll can always find a better guy than him."

Seeing Kishi being that Kishi who would always get back up stronger after a setback gave Risa a sense of relief. In a way, she was just like Touma. Perseverance was a trait she admired in people. Defeating the two-time champion Misaka Mikoto together in an inter-school 1.5km race was the proudest moment Risa could ever feel with her friend Kishi.

The ground shook, almost knocking Risa to the ground.

"Earthquake?!" Risa said.

Kishi grabbed Risa's arm, "Let's find something to hide under!"

They ran inside a classroom to their right and huddled each other under a table.

"How unlucky to encounter an earthquake here." Kishi said.

Cracks appeared on the ground below and before the both could react, it shattered into pieces.

Kishi held Risa tightly in her arms as they both fell inside a black hole underneath.

What would await them beyond the hole was something beyond just unlucky.

* * *

"Where am I...?"

Kishi awoke to a classroom.

Wooden tables were messily arranged, and some overturned. Like the tables in Kisaragi Academy, they were so rotten that Kishi could easily punch through it with enough force. However, the tables here was smaller.

This was definitely an elementary school classroom.

Kishi stood up, realizing that she was the only one here. Halfway during her fall, she fell unconscious and let go of Risa.

It might be due to the filth and dust from decades of neglect, but the thick air around her smelled like rusty iron mixed with an uncomfortable odd smell.

"Blood?"

There was a male corpse beside the door who had his entire abdomen ripped off. Blood leaked from the cavity. His intestines and organs were nowhere to be found.

Kishi inhaled sharply and clenched her teeth before dashing out of the classroom into the hallway.

What was that thing?!

The horrifying scene kept playing in her mind. She shut her eyes, screaming in her mind for it go away.

Risa came to mind, and her eyes snapped open.

"I've got to calm down! I must find Risa."

The wood creaked with every step Kishi took. It was night from what she could see from the windows to her left. Without the moonlight, the hallway would have been engulfed in total darkness.

A child-like laughter echoed across the hallway.

Kishi swallowed nervously with a pained expression as she kept moving. If this was a haunted house in a carnival, she would rate it full marks for its incredibly creepy atmosphere.

"Maybe its just an elaborate prank by some television show...?"

The creaking sound grew faster and faster. Without realizing it, Kishi increased her pace. All she wanted was to get out of this horrible place littered with corpses with Risa.

"Where are you? Can you hear me Ri-?"

Kishi tripped over a bucket. As she got up she felt something wet and slimy stuck around her head. The strong, rotting smell almost caused her to puke.

Her eyes widened with horror when she saw what she just wiped off.

It was a kidney tangled with intestines.

Kishi could no longer stand it anymore.

She let out a scream and started crying.

"If this is a prank, stop it! Tell me where is Risa and let us off! Please, I beg you!"

A blue phantom-looking boy took Kishi's right arm with a comforting smile.

"This is not a prank."

It was possible that the boy spirit might have been a hologram. It was also possible that the corpses and the horrible smelling organs Kishi wiped away was artificially created. Technology had already advanced to that level. It might really be a prank by a television show.

However...

The boy ripped away Kishi's right arm.

She stared at the boy. The pain felt so surreal that Kishi wondered if her arm had really been ripped off, but the pain and the wet, sticky sensation from the blood that spluttered around the right side of her body was not an illusion.

Like devouring a piece of chicken wing, he munched happily on Kishi's arm with one hand while gripping her right lower thigh with the other hand.

"Mmm... delicious!"

He ripped out Kishi's right leg, and discarded the bones that used to be Kishi's arm with bits of meat still stuck on it.

Kishi no longer cared about the pain. The psychological shock from being ripped apart alive by a spirit numbed her senses. She slumped backwards on the bloodied floor.

"Risa... Risa... Where are you...?"

As the boy ripped off her left arm, Kishi kept on repeating the same thing.

"Risa... Risa... Where are you...?"

"Risa... Risa... Where are you...?"

"Risa... Risa... Where are you...?"

It was during lunch break a few years ago when Kishi said something similar to this. Both Kishi and Risa were in different classes during middle school but would always meet up for lunch. That day, Risa went missing.

"Risa... Risa... Where are you...?"

Kishi searched the whole school but she wasn't there.

"Risa... Risa... Where are you...?"

Then, Kishi remembered that there was one last area she had not searched.

When she reached the rooftop, she found Risa tied up onto a pole. Four girls from the same class as her were stuffing natto into Risa's mouth and pouring it all over her. Occasionally, they would slap and kick her.

Those girls were always picking on Kishi because they didn't like her attitude. Risa never liked conflict, but to stop the bullying, she went up to them and requested that they stop.

The result was the scene on the rooftop.

But the one who saved Risa was not Kishi.

The four girls were all trained in Judo. No matter how painful their throws were, Kishi kept getting back up. She kept getting back up until she laid flat on the ground, bruised and weak.

Like her current situation now, Kishi had reached her limit. She could no longer go on.

It was a boy named Kamijou Touma who saved Risa.

Even if it was four girls against one guy, Touma ended up like Kishi. Like a practice dummy, they chuckled as they threw Touma left and right in many styles.

Every time, Touma would just get up and ran towards the direction where Risa was only to get thrown again. Kishi didn't understand why. There was no meaning if he didn't even try to fight them.

Finally, Touma smiled.

It was a moment Kishi could never forget. She realized what was going on.

"There's no way you can get out of this." Touma said.

A female teacher famously known for her height of 135cm appeared on the rooftop. Having witnessed how the four girls had attacked Touma, she sent them to the principal's office. Because the four girls did not suffer from any injuries, they could not claim that they assaulted them out of self-defence. This was probably the reason why Touma made no attempts to fight them. They were charged with assault and got suspended. Since then, the four girls stopped their bullying.

I'm sorry Risa. I'm sorry that I'm not as clever as Kamijou Touma. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you.

From her blurry vision, Kishi saw a girl with long, black hair in a white dress. While most of the details were obscured by her vision, she caught a slight glimpse of her most distinctive feature.

Her sliver, twinkling irises shaped like a star.

"Who is Risa?" Kishi heard a voice. It must be that girl who asked her that question. She had a voice so sweet that it disgusted Kishi, but this was no longer the time to feel disgusted over such a minor issue.

Despite the distance between the two, her voice sounded like she was just right beside Kishi.

"Tagawa Risa... Please find her and keep her safe..."

"I'll try my best~"

That was the last thing Kishi heard before she fell into an eternal slumber by a crushing blow to her face from the girl.

* * *

An alarm rang.

Mikoto slammed the clock beside her bed. It was 7am, and school started at 8am.

"I can't be late for school!"

Today was the beginning of her high school life, and being late felt like a bad start.

She rushed inside the toilet and washed herself up before proceeding to the kitchen to cook breakfast.

Mikoto cracked an egg on the sizzling pan.

"Go wake Minami up! It's already 7am!"

"Okay. Says Mikasa as she pauses her reading and gets up from the sofa."

Her twin sister, Misaka Mikasa was a hikikomori. A type of person who shuts herself at home and never goes out. Not only that, she speaks in an extremely odd manner as well. Was this a price to pay for genius intelligence?

"NOOO! Leave me alone! I don't want to wake up! I'm tired!"

Minami, her youngest sister, was being rebellious again.

Mikoto scooped up the egg into a gleaming white plate before marching into her room.

As always, her twin sister Mikasa would stare at Mikoto, as if to say, I've tried my best. An IQ of 230 capable of solving one of the most complicated mathematical problem, but is unable to accomplish such a simple task like snatching a blanket away from her youngest sister? What a useless twin.

Mikoto crept up to a sleeping Minami, and in one swift motion, she snatched her blanket away.

"It's wakey wakey time, so get the hell up!"

A startled Minami sprang up. She couldn't sleep without a blanket, so this was the only way to wake this spoiled princess up.

She reluctantly left her bed, pouting.

Despite being only 9 years old, Minami looked almost exactly like her maternal aunt with an ahoge sticking out from her shoulder-length brown hair as a defining trait they shared. Even their height was similar at around 140 cm.

Misaka Mikoto's family was definitely not the most ordinary family around.

Mikoto globbed up a messily made ham sandwich in the kitchen while Minami stared at the egg placed on the dining table in front of her.

"Can I have ice cream instead? I feel like eating ice cream today." Minami said.

Mikoto sighed before putting on her best big sister smile. "But it's not good to eat ice cream in the morning. Didn't I tell you before, you'll catch a cold if you eat it in the morning. Don't you remember how bad you felt when you had a cold?"

Minami nodded disappointedly. She remembered the agony of not being allowed to eat anything but bland tasting food. The headaches and runny noses only worsened her agony. Why are delicious foods such as potato chips and ice cream bad for health when they tasted so good? If they taste good, then they must be good for health, right? There was a reason for it, but she couldn't understand her older sister's explanation.

Even so, she believed her. The reason why she caught a cold was because she ignored her older sister and insisted on playing tag at a field with her friends despite the heavy downpour. What her older sister says must be the truth.

"But I love ice cream..."

Mikoto struggled to stay firm with her decision. She couldn't bear to see Minami so disappointed, but it was for her own good. Then again... one day wouldn't do any harm, right? All she needed was a good reason to reward Minami ice cream as breakfast.

Mikoto went over to Minami's bag and fished out a drawing she did in art class.

Unlike most artwork produced by kids at her age, Minami's drawing was as beautiful as an artwork done by a professional illustrator. When it comes to drawing, she was the genius in the family.

"As a reward for producing consistently excellent drawings in school, just this once, we can have ice cream for breakfast tomorrow. So please finish your eggs, alright?"

"Really...? But wouldn't I catch a cold if I eat it in the morning?" Minami looked at her in disbelief.

"Just this once wouldn't cause you to catch you a cold. But, only just this once!"

Minami shoved the egg inside her mouth, threw her hands up into the air and ran around the house in excitement.

"Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream for breakfast tomorrow!"

Mikasa frowned as the sleeping black cat jumped out of her lap in shock when Minami ran past her.

"If you don't stop running around like a psychotic idiot and go to school, I'll eat your ice cream for breakfast tomorrow. Says Misaka as she threatens you with an irritated tone. Why did you have to disturb its sleep with your noisy movements?"

"Hmph! I'll eat your cat for breakfast if you eat my ice cream!" Minami stuck her tongue out in response and continued running.

The black cat made its way back to its owner seated on the sofa, but before it could do so, the cat leaped rightwards to dodge an incoming Minami and knocked over a cup of tea placed on the coffee table.

Mikasa stood up. This nuisance must be stopped once and for all.

"You leave me with no choice. Says Misaka as she prepares to discipline her sister through physical means."

Mikoto shook her head, smiling. The both of them seemed to be always in conflict.

The drawing Minami drew depicted a scene of their family enjoying a picnic at a park during a fine sunny afternoon.

Do you remember? You've promised to bring us all out for a picnic.

Mikoto left the drawing on the table and went inside her room to change into her new school uniform.

Dad... where did you go? All of us needs you. Especially Mum.

Mikoto found herself tearing up as she thought of Minami's drawing.

It was her dream beautifully illustrated on paper.

I'm sure we can be together again as a family.

* * *

"Kamijou Touma! I want your report on the hypothetical subatomic particle C2B4!"

Touma was seated in his classroom waiting for his homeroom teacher Tsukiyomi Komoe to arrive and take attendance before school officially begins.

In front of him was the class representative and his group leader for a project that they were going to be presenting later during the first period.

She was Fukiyose Seiri. At first glance, one would think that she was a blessed high school girl with long, black hair, slightly above average looks and a well-endowed figure. No way she could be a monster with the strength of a 100 giants.

But the Delta Force (consisting of Touma and his other two friends Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado Motoharu) knew. Fukiyose Seiri was a monster.

"Alright, alright. Calm down."

Touma took out a stack of paper.

The C2B4 was a recent hypothesis proposed about 5 years ago by a girl named Kumokawa Seria. This hypothesis came about when she was studying the composition of an untested drug known as Arxes, the potential cure for AIDS with virtually zero side-effects. According to her, this C2B4 would be the key in developing the technology required for teleportation.

Seiri trembled as she read through the report Touma gave her.

"Kamijou Touma. What is the meaning of this?!"

She flung the stack of paper onto Touma's table. As it flew about in the classroom, obscene images of elementary school girls could be seen printed on the paper with accompanying texts below.

Aogami Pierce, a boy with blue hair who was seated to Touma's left, threw himself into the air and grabbed all the flying paper with his speed and dexterity before landing back on his seat.

"Thanks man. Now I can finally complete Imouto's Paradise." Pierce said.

An intense dark aura surrounded Seiri as she glared at Touma. So intense to the point where Touma felt the ground tremble under its might.

"One. Last. Chance. Your report."

Touma searched his bag. True to his misfortune, he somehow mistook Imouto's Paradise walkthrough for his report.

Most people would have shuddered upon realizing this if they were in Touma's place, but he looked at Seiri with a deadpan expression. Touma had 'died' horribly many many times over because of Othinus to the point where Seiri seemed like child play.

"It's at home."

"You... You... I... can't believe this!"

Seiri sent an uppercut towards Touma but he intercepted it with one hand.

"Violence isn't always the solution." Touma said.

With one swift motion, Seiri gripped Touma's neck.

The intense dark aura became so dark that only red eyes could be seen.

"Ho-How dare you...?!"

Even Touma knew this was the time to be scared. Even if he didn't fear the mighty Iron Wall Girl Fukiyose Seiri, he feared death.

"You say you're the most misfortunate person alive? Well, you're wrong. I'm the most misfortunate person alive for being grouped together with the three of you! Tsuchimikado is absent and hasn't done his part, Aogami is hopeless and you. You! You irresponsible idiot!"

"Fuki...Fukiyose..." Touma gasped out, his airway increasingly constricted by Seiri's death grip. "Let... me go. There are no... health supplements available in prison..."

Upon hearing that, her anger shot through her limit and she hurled Touma towards the ceiling.

"I had enough of you!"

If it wasn't illegal, she would have snapped his neck into two. An irresponsible idiotic pervert like him should be banned from existing in this world.

The classroom door slid open, and his homeroom teacher Tsukiyomi Komoe entered with the new student following behind.

"Good morning class, today we have a ne- wait, why is Kamijou-chan hanging down with his head stuck on the ceiling?!"

The new student Misaka Mikoto wondered in amazement at how this person ended up in such an incredible situation. What was more amazing was the homeroom teacher. Despite everyone wearing the same uniform from the neck down, she knew which student that guy was.

She smiled awkwardly and bowed. "My name is Misaka Mikoto, nice to meet you."

However, there was no need for introduction. Everyone recognized Misaka Mikoto as the top student in Tokiwadai Middle School who had a pretty though rather tomboyish face accentuated by her short brown hair and excelled in almost everything she did. Why was she here as a new student in this school? Tokiwadai High School had a much higher ranking than Nagatenjouki after all.

Touma pressed his palm on the ceiling, and pushed himself down. He fell on the back onto his desk before rolling over onto the desks of several girls, and they shouted in shock.

Writhing in pain, he got up from the mess of overturned tables with scattered books and stationary and looked at the new student.

"Eh?"

It was unmistakably Misaka Mikoto, surprised.

Touma was surprised to see her as well. Yesterday, he met her twice in a single day, and today she was the new transfer student in his class? This felt like too much of a coincidence.

After Mikoto was seated in her assigned seat about two rows near the classroom door, people soon formed a crowd around her, asking questions like her experience in Tokiwadai and why did such a genius like her decide to join Nagatenjouki etc.

It took a lot of effort before Komoe could settle the class down and start attendance taking.

Motoharu was sick, so he didn't come to school.

Kishi and her friend Risa was absent for some reason.

However...

"That's all for today's attendance taking. By the way, sensei has something on now, so a relief teacher will be taking your place. By the way, the presentation will be postponed to tomorrow." Komoe said.

Touma raised a hand, "What about Risa?"

"Eh? Do we have such a student in our class?"

"Huh? You were our homeroom teacher since the first day we entered this school. You don't remember Tagawa Risa?"

Komoe went over the class list.

"Are you okay Kamijou-chan? I don't remember such a student in this school."

Touma turned towards Pierce, "Just yesterday this morning, you said Risa was a quiet, innocent looking girl hiding a dark secret about her love for erotic shoujo manga. You don't remember?"

Pierce gave him a confused look, "Did I say that? I only remember saying something about Kishi who was planning to confess to you yesterday. Did you check your locker for the letter?"

"What...?"

There was no letter when Touma arrived in school yesterday.

Kishi was supposed to be an item with Yamazaki. She would never confess her love to him. Besides, Kishi was one of the girls in class that resisted his 'Kami-yan disease'.

Some classmates were like Pierce, confused. Some others were concerned about Touma. Was he going to be the next Nakashima Naomi who went insane and quit school because no one would believe her imaginary friend Seiko existed? It was a popular rumor that the class talked about around a month ago.

Time froze.

Othinus appeared floating in front of Touma.

"Let me explain what's going on."

Touma stared at her with a serious look. "Go on."

"Tagawa Risa is currently trapped inside an alternate dimension known as the Heavenly Host. She's still alive, but the disappearance of her existence in this world means that her fate has already been decided. Of course, your Imagine Breaker can change that. However..."

He was waiting for the punchline. Something that would threaten to break him mentally like in the other worlds she put him through.

"To enter this dimension, and return back to this world, you need one more person. Now, who will be the unlucky soul dragged along into hell by your selfishness to save a girl?"

During his fight with the magician Freyja, he decided that to end this unfairness done to her, he would use anyone and anything even if it was shameful, pathetic, or embarrassing to him. And so, he asked for help from Mikoto and Index.

There was no espers in this world, so Mikoto might not be the strong and reliable Level 5 he knew anymore.

Wait, if this survival game created by Othinus is known as Esper Royale, then there must be espers hidden somewhere. That means there are people strong enough to survive.

Othinus let out a mocking sigh, "If you're thinking about asking those participants known as espers for help, you can forget about it. This is a survival game. No one is foolish enough to fall into a trap. Of course, you have the option of lying to them, or any of those ordinary mortals in your class, but that just isn't your style after all, no? You'll understand what I mean when I say you have the option of lying."

Touma felt a vibration from his phone.

It was a message.

The first part of the message was information about this 'Sachiko Ever After' ritual. In short, everyone who participated in the ritual will remain as friends forever. There were even instructions attached to carry out the ritual.

But when Touma read the second part of the message, he understood what Othinus meant.

 _The only known method to enter the alternate dimension known as Heavenly Host is as follows. A minimum of two person is required._

 _1) Download and print out the piece of paper as attached above._

 _2) Each participant will hold onto one end of the paper._

 _3) Chant only one time for each person participating._

 _4) After chanting, pull apart the paper._

The instructions given in the first part of the message to carry out the ritual was the same as the instructions given to enter Heavenly Host.

He could lie to someone saying that he wanted to try out this ritual for fun and possibly doom that person to hell while saving Risa.

Also, why would any participants strong enough to survive inside Heavenly Host risk their lives and lose a chance to win a wish just to save a girl they hardly knew? Most likely, they would think that it was a trap set up by him to kill them there.

"You have until the next morning to find someone before Tagawa Risa permanently disappears. What will you do now, hero?"

Time resumed, and Othinus was nowhere to be seen.

Touma felt despair rising from his fragile heart. Seeing someone he could have saved die in front of his eyes was crushing. But this time, it was a situation where he would have to kill someone to save another person.

What should I do...?

The voices from his classmates grew more and more distant.

Was there really no solution?

He smirked coldly to himself.

Othinus, you got me this time.

* * *

A class of elementary school students sat inside a classroom attentive and quiet as a teacher talked about basic algebra, supporting his points with questions and diagram on the blackboard.

A student shot her hand up. "Sensei, I don't understand why is y equals to 38 in that equation!"

The tall, scrawny albino teacher with red eyes and white hair sighed. He looked more like a frail, snowy demon than a teacher, but that was undoubtedly what he was working as now.

"Okay. Let me explain one more time then." Accelerator said.

Given his past background, Accelerator never thought that he would end up as a teacher in an elementary school. Then again, life can sometimes be rather unpredictable.

This process of blabbering content and answering questions regarding the content kept going until the school bell rang. Lesson over.

Accelerator left the classroom, walking along a noisy corridor with students ready to leave.

"Those lucky bastards." He muttered.

It was only 3pm, and those kids can go home and play already. There was still work waiting for him back at the office.

"How was your day?" A female teacher called out to Accelerator with a coffee mug in hand when she spotted him entering the office.

"Peaceful."

She let out an envious sigh. "If only I looked half as scary as you, then my students wouldn't be so rebellious and noisy during lessons."

"It's nice to have noisy and rebellious students. Otherwise the job just gets boring."

"That's easy for you to say. You'll never understand the pain of others if you've never experienced it yourself. Anyway, I shall get back to marking."

Multiple stacks of paperwork stood neatly on his desk.

Accelerator picked up his red pen and began marking papers.

Understanding the pain of others huh...

In the end, did he truly understand that person's pain before her death?

Codename: Accelerator. A person judged by the now defunct crime management system called Sybil System as good.

Codename: Last Order. A person judged by the now defunct crime management system called Sybil System as evil.

Could a person like him from one end even understand the pain of a person like her who was on the other end?

Accelerator shook his head. His pen had not moved from its original position at all. If he kept thinking about her, this stack of paperwork would never be finished. Pushing aside any stray thoughts, he continued to mark papers after papers.

When he looked up to check the time from a wall clock, it was already six.

Accelerator left his desk to get dinner from a nearby convenience store.

Being a elementary school teacher isn't as fun as you think, Last Order.

The paperwork was tedious, and teaching the same thing for ten years can get really repetitive. There was nothing fun about the job.

A scream from a classroom caught Accelerator's attention. Especially when it was from his form class.

He opened the door to see four elementary schoolgirls laughing and an embarrassed fifth girl being laughed at.

"Just what the hell is going on?" Accelerator said.

The five girls smiled upon seeing their form teacher.

"Sensei!"

They were Tamaki Iki, Ishihara Mamiko, Oyama Kaya, Kawai Kouko, and lastly, Misaka Minami.

"You kids shouldn't be here at such a late hour."

Snacks and bento boxes were placed on tables joined together in the center with the other tables being pushed aside to create more space around the area.

Another party to celebrate Kawai Kouko's departure from this school because her family was moving house?

Kaya chuckled nervously, "Sorry. We just felt that this was the best place for us to be together for the last time before Kouko's school transfer."

Minami grinned. "You'll forgive us, right Senpai?"

Accelerator let out a sigh. To see a splitting image of Last Order in the form of a nine year old girl named Misaka Minami grinning at him, reminding him of his memories with her; his heart felt like it could shatter any moment, but he was not some adolescent teenager who could not keep their emotions in check.

"Rearrange the tables properly when you're done, okay?"

He turned behind to leave the classroom when Kouko called out to him.

"Wait! Sensei, you're leaving this school as well right?"

The remaining four girls gasped in shock.

"How did you know about this?" Accelerator said. He was certain he never told any of his students about this.

"I... happened to hear about it from the other teachers! Apparently, you're going back to your old job before you became a teacher."

Iki pouted towards Kouko, "Why didn't you tell us? We could have celebrated Sensei's departure as well!"

Kouko regretted being so impulsive. It was supposed to be a secret between her and Sawai sensei, and Accel sensei's questioning look almost scared her to death. His previous job must be something very unpleasant for him to be that scary.

"I'm sure Sensei has his reasons for not telling us yet, so I thought it'd be best if I let him say it himself."

A small smile appeared on Accelerator's face. He always appreciated people who were understanding like Kouko.

"Anyway, have fun."

Mamiko took out a paper cut out in the shape of a human figure.

"Everyone, let's do this charm before we clean up and go home alright?"

"What's this?" Kaya looked at the simple paper figure anyone could cut out in minutes, unsure of what Mamiko wanted them to do with that.

"I know, I know!" Iki raised her hand excitedly. "It's that Sachiko Ever After charm! If we do the ritual, we'll always be together forever and ever with Sachiko's blessings."

Accelerator raised an eyebrow. He was not the sort to believe in such supernatural things, and it was amazing how people actually believe this nonsensical crap. If charms really do what they claim to do, then there would be no more chaos in this unfair world.

"You'll do the charm with us, right Senpai?" Minami tugged at his shirt, her eyes brimming with hope.

Accelerator grimaced as he stared at Minami and the paper charm in Mamiko's hand, like a man unwilling to dress up like a clown for his wife's amusement. Only kids and silly adults do these kind of things, not him. There were strange things bordering on the edge of supernatural that he encountered in the past, but that still did not change his beliefs.

"I still have work to do."

"Please, please, please, please! It's only just for a little while!"

In the end, he was not strong enough to reject Minami.

All of them were gathered around in a circle, each grabbing hold of one end of the paper charm. According to the friendship ritual known as 'Sachiko Ever After', they will have to each chant one time for every person participating. Therefore, everyone must chant six times in total. No more no less.

Mamiko's face turned serious. "If you chant even one time more or less, you'll anger Sachiko and all of us will be sent to hell, so chant it slowly."

"Like Nakashima Naomi? My sister said because she did the ritual wrongly, she was sent to hell. Somehow she escaped but she was never the same again. All she talks about is her best friend Seiko who nobody could prove that she existed." Kouko said.

Mamiko nodded. "Let's not end up like Seiko and Naomi and chant slowly."

"Sachiko, we beg of you."

About five seconds passed before they chanted for the second time.

"Sachiko, we beg of you."

This process repeated itself for the remaining four times, and they each tore a piece of paper at the end.

Mamiko kept her piece inside her student ID. "Keep the pieces safe no matter what. That's how the charm works because the pieces represents our eternal bond created by the ritual."

Accelerator stuffed his piece inside a pocket. Like that charm would actually work. Supernatural things are just bullshit that silly people believe in.

Violent tremors sent tables crashing against each other, and cracks streaked through the walls and windows.

He dropped to his knees, covering his neck and head with both hands. "Get down!"

"Wh-What was going on?!" Kaya cried out as she and the other four girls followed what Accelerator did, like in the earthquake drill they do every September 1st.

The earthquake happening around Kouko led her to believe only one thing.

All of them were going straight to hell.

Through a black hole beneath them.

* * *

Mikoto waved a group of girls goodbye at the school gate before leaving through a path opposite from them.

Normally, her twin sister Mikasa would fetch Minami from school, but since Minami wanted to stay back for a farewell party until 5pm, Mikoto decided to fetch her instead.

She took out her wallet to see one 1000 yens bill and coins equal to 500 yens inside.

"Mikasa is going to murder me if we're eating bentos again."

Sighing, Mikoto snapped her wallet shut. How could 1500 yen feed her family healthily other than bentos? Impossible.

"Plain bread and instant noodles works fine as well, Biribiri."

Mikoto jumped in surprise at the appearance of that spiky-haired boy Kamijou Touma.

"Were you beside me all long?! And calling me names when we just met isn't very polite, you idiot!"

"You aren't that polite yourself if you called me an idiot."

"Well, you started it first. Do you have the tendency to give people you just met weird nicknames?"

Touma chuckled, "Not really. You're... just a special case."

Mikoto narrowed her eyes, "Please don't tell me that's your stupid attempt in hitting on me. I don't like people who are rude."

This must be how that playboy Kamijou Touma ended up being popular with girls. Alternating between rude and nice must be his strategy. She had enough of those playboys from other schools trying to hit on her with a similar method.

He handed a pamphlet to her. "There's a promotion at a supermarket today until 9pm. I think with 1500 yen you can buy something decent."

The supermarket was located at another district quite far away from this district, but she should be able to make it there by 9pm with Minami. Tonight's dinner shall be budget oden and Mikasa will finally stop whining about bentos.

"Don't think I'm grateful for this. I just accepted it because you offered it to me like a classmate helping out another classmate. Get it?"

Mikoto emphasized the word 'classmate' before rushing off to beat the traffic light. If she did not make it clear to that playboy, he might just think that his stupid strategy succeeded. No, he was wrong. Dead wrong.

The people on the street grew lesser as she entered into a more isolated area of this district.

In this world, the more isolated an area is, the more dangerous it becomes.

Mikoto swerved her body to dodge a blue meteor, but the shockwaves created by the impact sent her crashing into a lamppost.

A glowing blue figure with large yellow eyes emerged from the crater, like an alien that landed on Earth.

"You were amazing last night, killing all those low grade monsters." The figure said. Judging from the voice, it must be a male.

Mikoto clicked her tongue. How unlucky to be spotted by another participant despite the time being that late in the night.

"I take that you won't stop until I'm dead."

"Of course. Otherwise what's the point of participating?"

The blue figure exploded into a flaming ball flying towards her.

She hurled electric arcs at the ball, but it did nothing to stop the incoming danger. A black iron sand wall formed by electromagnetism rose up in front of Mikoto and knocked the both back.

What exactly was that freak's ability?

Electricity did not work on him, but the iron sand wall had an effect on him, so this meant that he was still a solid mass moving at high speeds.

The blue figure exploded into flames again, and shot up into the sky.

Mikoto caught a blue flash from the edge of her vision. Using electromagnetism, she pulled herself towards lightning pole at the rooftop of a nearby building through the air, dodging a direct hit from the meteor.

With one hand magnetically stuck to the pole, she flicked a coin up using the other hand.

This was a survival game after all. It was either kill or be killed.

An orange beam extended from her thumb to pierce through the blue figure who widened his eyes in horror.

Mikoto leaped off the rooftop and landed on the ground below in front of the blue alien figure reverting back to a male teenager around her age with a hole blown through an orb attached to his chest before disintegrating into dust.

Turning into dust at death was the fate of every participant should they fail to survive.

She felt a vibration from her skirt pocket.

It was a phone call from Minami.

"Hey, sorry I'm late... why are you crying?" Mikoto said.

The time was already 5pm, but Minami was not the sort who would cry because no one was coming to fetch her despite the time.

"I-I'm in hell now! We... we did the ritual correctly but we still angered Sachiko and got sent to hell! I don't understand what's going on!"

"Wh-What ritual?!"

The call ended, leaving behind a series of beeping noises from Mikoto's phone.

What ritual was she talking about? What has it got to do with hell and Sachiko and why was Minami crying?

Even for a person like her who was granted abilities by a female god dressed like a witch, being sent to Hell through a ritual seemed incredulous. But if gods existed, that also meant that the existence of Hell and a ritual to send one into Hell was also possible.

Minami was in danger, and she had to enter Hell to save her. How? Just exactly what ritual was she talking about?

Mikoto searched for 'friendship ritual sachiko' on her phone.

The only result was a post from a popular supernatural blog. Apparently, there was a friendship ritual known as 'Sachiko Ever After' promising eternal friendship for the ones who do it. This must be the ritual Minami was talking about.

"Minimum of two people to do the ritual...?"

She gripped her phone in shock.

Who would be the second person? Mikasa? But Mikasa was just a normal person as vulnerable as Minami. Asking another participant directly was out of the question. They would end up killing her instead.

The only thing Mikoto could do right now was to sprint towards Minami's school and pray for a miracle to happen.

* * *

 **Author's Note:  
**

It took longer than expected, but I hope you liked the chapter. If you have any comments, do leave them in the review box below.

See you!


	3. Chapter 3

Despite being 6pm in the evening, many employees were still buried deep in work inside an air-conditioned office. A common occurrence in Everlife Corporation where many hardworking employees would often choose to work overtime.

Except for a certain Frenda Seivelun leaning on a reclining chair inside an office as she took a scoop of gelato. As her boss Takitsubo Rikou took leave today, she decided to enjoy herself inside her boss's office until 7pm, the work culture's acceptable time to go home.

Unlike the other employees in EverLife corporation who dressed professionally in standard black and white, Frenda wore a blue sailor top matched with a short, pleated red skirt. Coupled with her blue beret and pumps, she looked more like she was dressed for a shopping trip than work.

Then again, not adhering to the dress code was one of the perks of being the personal assistant of Takitsubo Rikou, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and a board member of Everlife Corporation.

Another perk was that she did not have to put up with the CEO of the corporation, Kakine Teitoku, who also violated the dress code by wearing a dark, unbuttoned maroon suit which revealed a red v-neck worn inside. According to the dress code, only white or black should be worn inside a dark suit, not bright and flashy colors like red.

Even his dirty, blonde hair was something that no CEO would be caught sporting.

"What brings you here at such a late hour, Kakine?"

Teitoku gave a slow clap, "What an excellent job in keeping the office clean, Frenda."

Littered around the floor were empty potato chip bags, food wrappers and plastic cups stained with ice cream and other beverages.

Frenda rolled her eyes. "Basically, as long as I clean up before Rikou comes back, it's none of your business."

There was a knock on the door before a woman entered. The litter scattered around the floor surprised her. She did not expect a person like Takitsubo Rikou to leave her office so messy.

"Good evening. Is Miss Takitsubo Rikou around?" The woman said.

Frenda took out her phone and checked Rikou's schedule for the day. Apparently, there was an appointment arranged with a person named Shinozaki Hinoe around this time today, and she forgot to inform Hinoe that Rikou was away today.

"I'm Frenda Seivelun, Miss Takitsubo Rikou's personal assistant. I'm sorry, but she has just left the office for an urgent meeting."

Teitoku stifled a chuckle while smirking, "Of course, Frenda. Rikou just left the office for an urgent meeting. No wonder Rikou chose you as her personal assistant. You're definitely the best I've ever seen."

Frenda shot him a glare. Teitoku was the only reason why she hated her job. Just his sarcasm alone annoyed Frenda greatly.

Teitoku gestured for Frenda to get her lazy ass off the reclining office chair, and kicked aside the trash around the floor before taking her place on the chair.

"You must be Shinozaki Hinoe. Have a seat please."

Hinoe nodded as she sat down. She seemed more like a nervous job applicant going for an interview than a visitor.

"And you are?"

He took out several citizenship ID cards from his pocket and placed them on the table. "I'm the CEO of this corporation, Kakine Teitoku. As promised, welcome to Academy City."

Hinoe grabbed the cards and bowed with a grateful smile before leaving the office.

Teitoku switched on the computer before pointing Frenda towards the door. He was going to do his work here instead.

The world outside Academy City must be even shitter than he thought if becoming a citizen of this city can make a woman like Hinoe who radiated an soothing presence despite her nervousness open a portal to an inescapable hell known as Heavenly Host which has already claimed countless lives. Then again, who wouldn't kill for an entry into Paradise?

He keyed in his account details and transferred a hundred million yen to an individual named Tsuchimikado Motoharu for being the middleman in this business transaction between himself and Shinozaki Hinoe.

One hundred million yen and four citizenship IDs in exchange for a path to Heavenly Host better net him kills of those participants in this survival game known as the Esper Royale.

* * *

A worn down elementary classroom. Rotting wooden chairs, tables, and floors that could collapse any moment. Two crying girls. Corpses. An obnoxious smell of death.

That was what Accelerator could make sense of this odd place for now.

Iki buried her face in both hands, crying. "Are we going to die here?"

Kaya stared in disbelief at a charred corpse lying at the side of a wall, tears dripping down on her cheeks. "We did the ritual correctly, so how did we end up angering Sachiko?"

She was right, Accelerator thought. All of them deliberately chanted slowly so that they would not screw up the ritual. Not that he expected anything to happen even if they did screw it up, but they did everything correctly so why were they still sent to 'Hell'?

"Stop crying. We still have to find the rest and get us all out of here somehow."

Kaya wiped her tears before she went over to Iki and gave her a hug, "Sensei is right. Let's find everyone okay? We'll all make it out alive."

Iki nodded, "Okay."

"Follow me closely behind."

Accelerator took careful steps towards the door, turning behind occasionally to check if Iki and Kaya were still there, and took a quick sideway glance before exiting.

Would leaving this place be as easy as walking down this dim corridor littered with skeletons and corpses towards the exit, or were there some other hidden obstacles?

He hated to admit it, but given the way they ended up in this place, there was a possibility that this place was supernatural in origin. Which meant that the way out might not be as straightforward as he liked it to be.

A male student stood at the end of the corridor with a deranged smirk and a bloodied knife in hand. From the student ID attached to his uniform, he was from Kumejima High School.

Accelerator took out a red device similar to a USB attached to the side of a watch from his pocket and wore it on his wrist.

"You have any idea what this place is?"

He did not expect much from the man judging from his psychological state. Being in this 'Hell' long enough where corpses and skeletons can be seen within walking distance at any corner must have driven him to the point of insanity.

The man chuckled as he raised his knife, "A place where you can never escape from. A place where you all will die!"

"Run Sensei! Run! Run!" Both Kaya and Iki tugged at Accelerator's shirt, screaming.

He merely shook his head in disappointment at the crazed student charging towards them and pressed a button on the red device.

 _ **[START UP]**_

A cool, professional voice announced before a whirring motor sound was emitted from the device.

Everything around Accelerator froze in place.

This was due to a phenomenon known as time dilation where a fast moving object would experience time moving less quickly than a relatively slower moving object.

Right now, he was moving at around one third of the speed of light.

His fist sent the man floating away like inside a zero-gravity field.

Accelerator pressed another button on the device, and time resumed its flow.

Kaya and Iki shrieked in horror. To them, the male student vanished into a gruesome mass of organs drenched in blood plastered on the wall in front of them.

He sighed. Those two girls are going to be a real burden to take care of. Screaming at every little thing isn't going to improve the situation. In fact, this might end up attracting some undesirable attention.

"Sensei... did you turn that guy into this?" Iki pointed a trembling finger at the gruesome bloody mass plastered on the wall.

Kaya looked at Accelerator with fear evident in her eyes.

Accelerator winced. Were they looking at him like some kind of a cruel murderer? He might have been cruel, but that psychotic man was a moving hazard and being stuck in a place which he cannot be sure whether it was supernatural in nature or not, it was safer to deal with him in this manner.

"I didn't have a choice. This is hell after all, and stop screaming if you don't want to attract ghosts."

Both Kaya and Iki acknowledged this with a bitter expression as they continued further inside the corridor, following Accelerator close behind.

Hell was the worst place to be in.

* * *

In the end, Touma failed to summon the courage to ask Mikoto for help to save Risa as he watched her rush off towards the traffic light.

The orange sky would soon turn black, and when it turns blue again, there was no more hopes of saving her. Tagawa Risa would cease to exist in this cruel world created by the magic god Othinus permanently.

It didn't have to be this way. He could save Tagawa Risa. All he had to do was to find another person. Anyone from his class would be fine. Especially the girls. They seemed like the sort who would go along with rituals like the 'Sachiko Ever After'.

A sudden, loud female voice shocked him back to reality.

"Catch me if you can, Mii!"

Before Touma could react, a blonde twin-tailed girl crashed into him, and they both fell hard on the concrete ground.

Lying on top of Touma, she stared at him red-faced before she hastily got up and adjusted her uniform.

"Ah... hi. Sorry about that."

"It's okay. Just be careful next time."

Touma was about to walk away when the girl stopped him with a hand.

"Wait! You don't remember me at all?!"

He scratched his head as he tried his best to search his memory about this blonde, twin-tailed girl who looked like an elementary school student, but her uniform was clearly from a middle school.

As he was dropped into this world as a high school student with no knowledge of what kind of a past Othinus created for him in this world, this girl should be someone he got involved with before. Come to think of it, wasn't this like the same thing he encountered when he woke up without any of his memories in the original world?

A bespectacled girl with short black hair appeared from behind, panting.

"Na-Nayuta! Return my phone this instant!"

So the blonde, twin-tailed girl was Nayuta, and the bespectacled girl should be Mii.

Nayuta grinned as she waved Mii's phone like someone who got hold of her friend's secret love letter to a crush. "Here's your chance. He's right here."

Mii looked at Nayuta with an exasperated expression. "You're the one who has a crush on him, not me. So could you please return my phone already?"

Her face flushed red upon hearing what Mii said. "Th-That's not true! I don't have a crush on him!"

Nayuta flipped open Mii's phone to search for the incriminating evidence that she had a crush on Touma.

"Eh? I was sure that it was somewhere around this folder..."

She looked up to see a sly smile from Mii. That girl must have done something to that note written in her phone beforehand!

"Anyway," Mii said to Touma, "Would you like to join us for dinner?"

Thank god. Touma thought. Their little squabble was finally over. He still did not understand their relationship with him, but it clearly was something positive.

"Sure."

Maybe a way to save Risa might somehow appear if he agreed. It was better than wandering aimlessly with no plan in mind.

* * *

"So how's life? It's been awhile since we met." Mii said as she sat across the table inside a restaurant with Nayuta seated beside Touma.

"The usual I guess. How's yours?"

It felt odd having a girl seated beside him. He expected Nayuta to sit beside Mii, but what's with this strange development? Just how exactly were they related?

Mii smiled, "Life has been pretty kind to us. Can't say the same for your misfortune though."

"Are you still that misfortunate? Or did life finally took pity on you?" Nayuta chuckled.

Touma let out a sigh as he stretched his arms before leaning back on his seat. "Still as misfortunate as ever."

If only they knew to what extent his misfortune could go. He never really thought that it could go as far as being tortured by a magic god in countless worlds. And now, it was psychological torture in the form of a moral choice.

Kill a life to save another life. Until now, he still had no answer. Either way, he would end up becoming a murderer. It was only the matter of killing Risa or killing the unfortunate person chosen by him.

Nayuta nudged a frowning Touma seemingly deep in thoughts, "Are you okay? You seemed troubled."

"Nah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Mii showed both Nayuta and Touma a blog website from her phone screen.

"Interested? I heard it's pretty effective."

"Hmm, no harm giving it a shot." Nayuta said.

Touma's eyes widened in shock. It was the 'Sachiko Ever After' ritual posted on a blog website. The friendship ritual that would send anyone who performed it correctly into the hellish Heavenly Host.

"Wanna join us as well?"

The invitation from Mii sent his mind spinning.

All he had to do was say yes. Risa would be saved if he did so.

 _How lucky you are, Kamijou Touma. Why are you hesitating? Don't you want to save Tagawa Risa?_

Othinus was playing as the devil in his mind.

 _Oh, that's right. You'll end up dragging these two girls to their death in exchange. But what about Risa? Doesn't she deserve to live as much as those two girls?_

Touma clenched his teeth as she kept taunting him about the choice he had to make.

It was true that Risa deserved to live as much as Nayuta and Mii, but he could never watch someone walk straight into death because of his selfishness to save a girl unrelated to them.

"Don't do the ritual!"

Both Nayuta and Mii jumped in shock at his sudden outburst after seeing him that tortured over a simple invitation.

"It's a trap! If you do it correctly, you'll be sent to an inescapable hell known as Heavenly Host!"

Nayuta stared at him worriedly, "Touma, are you really okay? What's wrong? Maybe you can talk to us about your problems?"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you about it."

"At least let us hear how ridiculous your story is." Mii said.

"God told me that my friend Risa did this ritual with her friend and ended up being trapped in a horrible place known as the Heavenly Host. The only way to enter is to do that ritual, but there must be at least two people for it to work."

Both Nayuta and Mii blinked.

He had expected such a reaction from them. For a technologically advanced city like Academy City, the concept of God must be something ridiculous. But he knew 'God' did indeed exist in the form of a blonde teenager girl dressed like a witch with an eye patch.

It was Nayuta who ended that brief moment of silence with a sigh.

"I'd like to believe you, but... actually I think you need help."

She felt something was off about Touma from the time he simply walked away like she was just a stranger. He did seem to have some awareness that Mii wasn't a stranger to him if he accepted her invitation for dinner. In any case, was the boy sitting beside her the same person she knew even though they had the same face?

A cruel realization struck her.

"I'll be right back." Nayuta said to a bewildered Mii as she dragged Touma towards a male toilet cubicle, earning many curious looks from the other people seated inside.

Inside the locked cubicle with no one else other than her and Touma face to face less than three feet apart, Nayuta stared at him, her expression serious.

"Tell me what's my full name, and how we first met each other."

Touma could no longer keep up with his pretense. He knew nothing about this girl other than her name being Nayuta.

"So you noticed after all. Sorry for lying, I just didn't want to disappoint you and your friend."

Nayuta's irises morphed into blue on one eye, and red on the other eye.

 **[COMPLETE]**

"Who exactly are you? Answer me."

Touma winced at her transformation. A sign of an impending fight with Nayuta? And was it really necessary for a voice to announce that her transformation was complete?

"A stranger placed in the body of this boy named Kamijou Touma."

Nayuta's heterochromia eyes lit up in anger.

"Then you should stop using his body like your puppet!"

The rapidly expanding air from her incoming fist blasted cubicle walls around and beyond them, reducing several rows of cubicles into a single open space.

Touma stopped her fist with his opened right palm. Pain shot through his arm. At least his Imagine Breaker negated enough power for his entire arm to remain attached to his body.

He regretted his choice of words. Claiming memory loss might have changed the whole situation into a more peaceful one.

"I believe there must be some kind of a misunderstanding regarding what I said bef-."

Nayuta threw an upward kick into his abdomen.

It was too late to say anything else.

* * *

"What do you mean by you don't know who is Misaka Minami?! She's a student in your art classes!"

Mikoto grabbed a flustered teacher by the collar in disbelief and anger. Sawai Michiko, the art teacher who often praised Minami for her excellent artwork, is saying that she doesn't know who Minami is?!

Michiko took a deep breath before pushing her away. "Please leave the school premises at once before I call security."

Mikoto realized she might have gone too far in her desperate attempt to make sense of this nonsense.

"Fine."

She clenched her fists as she walked through a path leading to the school's exit gate. Sawai Michiko was definitely Minami's art teacher. There was no way she could have gotten that wrong. What the fuck was going on? Was Minami's existence somehow erased from this world the moment she landed into hell?

This can't be happening... right?

After exiting the school, she dialed Mikasa's number on her phone.

"Is Minami at home already?"

"Who is Minami? Asks Misaka as she finds your question puzzling. By the way, Misaka's stomach is growling for food, so please come home with food and stop loitering around."

"Are you my only sister?"

"Of course. Why are you calling home with yet another puzzling question? Asks Misaka as her concern for her twin sister Mikoto increases with each passing moment."

"Ah, it's nothing. I'll be back home soon with dinner."

Mikoto slipped her phone inside a skirt pocket with trembling hands.

The people walking past her. The buildings around her. The trees planted by the roads. The tall lampposts sprouting from the grass.

Everything became so unreal in an instant.

This was no longer the world Misaka Mikoto knew.

"I gotta find a way inside..."

She wiped tears away. This was not the time to be crying. Unlike her father, Minami can still be saved if she was fast enough.

Blaring sirens pierced the air as scores of black amoured Anti-Skill vans zipped past through a road leading into a city area of District 7.

Mikoto's phone exploded with notifications from MIX, a popular social media mobile application.

 _'Massacre in District 7-1 by aliens!'_

 _'I knew it! I knew aliens were real after all!'_

 _'Are we all going to die?! Save us!'_

There were many rumors and theories about the recent increase in people disappearing and being murdered with the most popular ones related to aliens or monsters. Some even posted videos about strange creatures resembling aliens murdering and kidnapping people, but even more bogus videos appeared, diminishing the credibility of such videos.

Mikoto knew those aliens or monsters were real, and to think today would be the day they quit being subtle.

A plan by a participant to draw out the other participants and kill them one by one? If they all thought the same thing as her, no one capable of killing those monsters would appear. Unless Anti-Skill was far more competent than she expected, no one was going to make it through alive.

She wanted to ignore whatever that was happening. This was a survival game, not a game to play hero.

Yesterday night, she used her powers to kill monsters instead of running away and use it only as a last resort. Because of her carelessness, a freaky blue boy appeared to kill her. And if she died trying to save everyone from monsters, who would save Minami?

For Minami, all of them can die for all she care.

A small smile formed on Mikoto's face as she walked in the opposite direction of the Anti-Skill vans.

"I've certainly changed a lot."

* * *

Minami stared at her phone.

She should have not told Mikoto about her situation.

"I don't believe you! I'm going to find everyone, and we are going to leave this place together!" Kouko said to a floating, blue flame wisp, her eyes filled with determination.

It appeared near the door when they both awoke in a rundown classroom, and told them a few things about this hell known as the Heavenly Host.

One sentence rang particularly deep into Minami's heart.

No one escapes this place alive.

Mikoto-nee is going to come find me... and then we'll both die together here.

She broke into tears.

Kouko turned to comfort Minami. "Don't cry. I promise we'll all leave this place together."

"I do sense some kind of power within you, Kawai Kouko, but don't get too arrogant. This place is far more dangerous than you think."

The wisp vanished inside a wall.

"Can your power help us find Sensei and the rest?" Minami said in between sobs.

Kouko let out a small chuckle before shaking her head, "I don't have that kind of a power. My power is more of something to be used for fighting bad people. So if there's bad people or even bad spirits, I can protect you and everyone else while we find a way out here."

"What exactly is your power? You never told us about it before."

"It's a little difficult to explain. Anyway, let's go find Sensei and the rest first."

They left the classroom and ventured down the dark hallway.

Minami shrieked at a rotting corpse with maggots crawling around the hollow eye sockets. It was only a short distance away from the classroom they awoke in, and yet another corpse?

Hell was scary. Mikasa said hell was a place to punish naughty kids like her. But she was not a naughty kid! It was Mikasa who's being an idiot for not letting her watch Magical Girl Kamina because of unfinished homework!

"Wh-Why are you crying again?! Don't worry! Everything will be alright!" Kouko said.

Minami shook her head, "I must have been a naughty kid if I'm in hell. Maybe it's my fault. If I had been a good girl and do my homework before watching Magicial Girl Kamina, none of this would have happened. I would not have dragged everyone down to hell with me."

"That's not true at all. Minami, you have to calm down and stop crying. It doesn't matter whose fault is it that we're all stuck in this place. What's important is that we find everyone and leave this place."

Kouko reminded Minami of her sister Mikoto. It felt like something she would say in this kind of a situation with her big sister kind of smile. Minami never expected Kouko to be such a mature person. Maybe she was even more mature than her sister!

"Okay, Kouko obaa-chan."

"Hey, I'm not that old!"

And they broke into laughter. A welcome relief from the gloomy atmosphere of this place.

Kouko noticed a blood stained notebook beside the corpse.

"Maybe there's a clue in that notebook. I'll go have a look."

 _ **YOu Pr0m1sed mE tHAt we'l1 all leAve tH1s pLace tgt. buT why did y0u aBaNdon me? iT's aLL juSt a L1e. A LiE!**_

She threw the notebook away.

"Nothing useful here. Let's go."

What a depressing place. Guess this place wasn't called hell for nothing.

Kouko grew more worried about Minami's condition. As they continued down the hallway, more and more corpse came into sight. And for every corpse Minami saw, she seemed closer to collapsing in complete shock.

Minami's legs gave way, but Kouko managed to grab her in time.

"How about we rest at the infirmary for a while?"

Minami nodded weakly, "I'm sorry for being so useless. If only I was as strong as you. This place is so scary, but you're still so calm."

She felt herself sinking into the soft fabric of the bed. Kouko was there seated by the bed. Compared to the dark hallway, the infirmary had much more lighting.

"Why not I tell you a little secret about myself? Actually, I'm not nine years old like you and the rest."

Minami bolted up in surprise, "Really?! That's so cool! I didn't know Kouko is actually an obaa-chan inside a little girl's body!"

"You really believe what I just said...?"

"Huh? So you were just kidding?"

"No, it's just... never mind. Anyway, I may not be nine, but I'm not an obaa-chan!"

Were kids around that age so easily trusting, or was it just Minami?

"But you're so wise and so strong like an obaa-chan."

"I'm not an obaa-chan, I'm only 27."

The thought of growing old into an obaa-san almost brought tears to Kouko. There she was enjoying her new-found youth, and Minami had to ruin it by saying such mean things.

"So you're like my aunt?"

"You aunt?"

"My mum said she looked just like an elementary schoolgirl, but she was actually the same age as a normal adult. I think it was because of a... what's that thing called again... ah DNA flaw!"

"Not really. I was experimented on, but it's not exactly a bad thing though."

Before she was Kawai Kouko, she was just an ordinary housewife abused by her husband almost to the point of death. However, Everlife Corporation offered her a new life inside this little girl's body.

A life inside underground laboratories littered with corpses left behind by failed experiments. Yet at the same time, a happy life spent in school with Minami, Mamiko, Iki, Kaya, and her scary, demonic form teacher Accelerator.

"Isn't being experimented on scary? I heard they would cut open your body and put weird things inside."

"It is. That's why this place doesn't scare me at all." Kouko winked.

A growing inadequacy stabbed at Minami's heart. If only she was as strong as Kouko and not be the useless little sister who needed to be comforted by an older sister.

Kouko stroked Minami's brown hair, "You're only nine, so it's okay to be scared. If I was actually the same age as you, I would definitely be scared as well. But you have to learn to be strong. That's how I can still remain calm even in such a horrible place. Be strong and don't let those corpses scare you anymore, alright?"

Minami nodded with a smile, her growing inadequacy quelled by Kouko's wise words. She would no longer be the useless little sister and become like her older sister Mikoto. Those corpses were scary and disgusting, but if it's Mikoto-nee, surely she would be just as calm as Kouko.

Darkness struck her vision before an invisible force pinned her down onto the bed.

Large yellow eyes and a broad decaying smile appeared just mere inches away from her face.

Minami let out a scream before gagging at the putrefying smell.

I have to be strong!

It seemed like the darkness around her was part of the formless monster staring right in her face.

She forced herself upright against the overwhelming force pinning her down.

I have to be as strong as Mikoto-nee and Kouko!

The monster frightened her so much that she wanted to just close her eyes and keep screaming until everything was okay, but that was something only a useless little sister like her would do.

A cool, professional voice cut through the darkness.

 **[STANDING BY]**

Fire burned away the darkness around her, revealing Kouko with flames dancing around her. Her long black hair also transformed into a crimson red ponytail. It was something like a magical girl transformation.

Minami leaped out of the bed, relieved that nothing was no longer pinning her down.

"Kouko, your power is to transform into a magical girl like Kanami?!"

A spear materialized out of thin air and stabbed at the ground between the rapidly advancing dark mass in a vague humanoid form towards Kouko.

She plucked the spear out and plunged it into the dark mass. The flames around her burned even stronger.

 **[COMPLETE]**

"Run! I'll meet you outside later!" Kouko said.

Minami bolted out of the room into the dark hallway. She kept running and running through the multitude of decomposing corpses lying by the walls.

Why was she running?! She was supposed to be the strong older sister, not the useless little sister.

I have to go back and help Kouko!

Minami tripped on something that felt like human legs face down into the chest of a female corpse with a missing bottom half.

Behind her was the missing bottom half. Intestines stuck out like wet noodles from the severed side.

Her breathing grew shallow as her body shook uncontrollably.

I... I have to be strong! Kouko told me not to be scared!

Tears fell from Minami's cheeks.

But why...

It was Mamiko.

The female corpse severed into two was her friend Mamiko.

Just around an hour ago, she was still laughing and smiling with her and the rest. Everyone was upset that she finished the last pudding at Kouko's farewell party, but she promised to make more puddings in the future.

Why did things change into a complete nightmare? This was unfair and wrong. Mamiko was a nice person. She didn't deserve to die so horribly.

Minami fell to her knees. "Why didn't you wait for us?! Mamiko... I'm sorry I didn't arrive sooner with Kouko to save you! I'm sorry!"

Mamiko's eyes and mouth were wide open in horror. She must have been scared and angry that no one came for her.

A blue phantom-looking boy appeared with a comforting smile.

"Since it's your fault that you failed to save this girl, why don't you stand there and let me rip you apart limb by limb as punishment?"

Minami stared at the boy, enraptured by his hypnotic gaze.

He was right. It was all her fault. She should just stand there as punishment. A painful and scary punishment, but a rightful one. After all, she failed to save Mamiko from dying so horribly.

A long, black haired girl with sliver starry irises wearing a white dress around eight or nine years old shook Minami out of her trance.

"Wake up! He's going to kill you! Take that rifle to your right and shoot him!" The girl said.

True to that girl's words, there was an elegantly designed rifle lying beside her right.

Minami fired at the blue phantom-looking boy running towards her with a smirk.

The boy fell back with a shriek as bullets pierced through his body before vanishing into thin air.

She heard a faint, but familiar voice.

"Minami."

Standing in front of Minami was Kouko sporting her usual long black hair. Holes were scattered around her torn and tattered uniform stained by the blood leaking from the bullet wounds. Her right arm was gone.

"Kouko...?"

How did she appear out of nowhere?! What was going on and what happened to her arm?!

Kouko smiled at a stunned Minami, "That girl in the white dress is dangerous. Run."

She collapsed to the ground.

Minami rushed over towards her.

"Don't die! You promised me that you'd find everyone and leave this place together! You can transform into a magical girl, right? Just transform and you'll be completely healed!"

"I'm sorry Minami, but can you help me find the rest? I believe you're strong enough. Now run away from that girl!"

Kouko took one final breath before she closed her eyes and her body went limp.

"I... I'm not strong enough! Kouko, wake up! Wake up please! I need you!"

No matter how hard Minami shook Kouko's body, it remained motionless and her eyes remained shut.

"Don't die... Kouko... Mamiko..."

Hell was not a scary place. It might seem scary with all those disgusting corpses and that strange monster, but it was not.

It was just a sad, painful place that killed her precious friends.

And she was still the useless little sister who could only watch her friends die one by one.

 **[CLOCK UP]**

Minami felt a crushing pain on her abdomen she found herself lying flat on her back with that sliver starry eyed girl in a white dress holding a remote in one hand and staring at her from above with a feet planted firmly on her abdomen. Kouko and Mamiko were suddenly so far away from her. It was almost like that girl had teleported her into this current state.

 **[CLOCK OVER]**

"Maybe you didn't hear me, but I told you to run away from me, didn't I?" The girl pressed a button on her remote. "Or would you like to join your friends instead?"

 **[READY]**

Two sword blades erupted from the ground beside Minami's head. Just a little closer, and it would have been impaled through her head.

"I don't understand... aren't you a good person who saved my life?!"

The girl chuckled as she kicked Minami away.

"If you still don't run, the next one will slice your neck off."

Minami took a few quick, trembling steps backwards confused before running away from the menacing laughter behind her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hope you liked this chapter :)

To guest: I think you might have left out your original review.


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